Guilt
by 14hpgirl19
Summary: Takes place right after the end scene in "The New Deal." After Damon kisses Elena, she has some serious thinking to do. Could she actually love him?


**This is my first Vampire Diaries story, so please be nice! I was finally catching up on it today and watched "The New Deal." I didn't realize how much I want Damon and Elena together until they kissed, and this plot bunny wouldn't leave. I hope you like it and let me know what you thought at the end!**

Elena couldn't breathe.

She couldn't think. Her mind was whirling with millions of disconnected thoughts.

_What just happened? _

Damon kissed her. Just stepped up and kissed her.

"_If I'm gonna feel guilty about something, I'm gonna feel guilty about this."_

The kiss was… As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't: It was amazing. Ever since Stefan turned on them all, and Klaus turned off his humanity, there was a huge part of Elena that was missing. A hole had been ripped out of her. She always thought it was because she lost Stefan. But when Damon kissed her, for that brief moment, that part of her was filled.

Elena reentered her house and walked upstairs in a daze. Heading straight into her room, she dropped onto her bed and spread out on her back. Unconsciously, she reached up and touched her lips.

This wasn't the first time she had kissed Damon, but this was the first time she really felt something stirring inside of her.

She always knew Damon loved her. He never came out and said it, but sometimes, whenever he tried to say he was pure evil, Elena saw the spark of humanity. That humanity was something not many people got to see. Alaric, Jeremy, Bonnie, they all didn't know exactly how human Damon could become.

Yes, she knew he loved her. But it never mattered to her before. She was with Stefan then. She couldn't think of someone else like that. Heck, she never _wanted _to think of someone like that.

But then Klaus happened, and Damon almost died. She thought he _was _going to die, so she didn't feel bad kissing him when he lay on his deathbed.

But Stefan managed to save him, and in the process lost himself. While Elena was happy Damon was spared, she knew it wasn't for free.

Right after Stefan left, Elena was afraid Damon would try to make a move that she would have to rebuff. He had the perfect opportunity to do so. Why wouldn't he?"

But no. He didn't try to pressure her. He tried to find Stefan for her. He was nothing but sweet (though still annoyingly sarcastic).

She had to have known this was coming. Those little moments between them had been building the kiss up for weeks. It was all a matter of when it would happen.

"_If I'm gonna feel guilty about something, I'm gonna feel guilty about this."_

Those words would not stop bouncing around in her head. Elena wondered if he would actually feel guilty. Damon didn't seem the type to feel that, but times were changing. After all, here she was, laying on her bed, asking herself the million dollar question.

Would _she _feel guilty?

A part of her was screaming yes. That was the part that still belonged to Stefan. There would always be a part that belonged to him.

The other part, however, was yelling the opposite. This side was excited at the possibility of exploring a relationship with Damon.

Elena sat up so fast, her head started to spin. Did she really just think of being in a relationship with _Damon? _

Breathing hard, she shakily got off her bed and began to pace back and forth. Sure, she cared about Damon. He'd done so much for her and been there through all the crap in the past few months.

But was that love? Could she honestly say she loved Damon?

She came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the room when the truth hit her: No. No, she didn't outright love Damon. But it could happen. If she just let her guard down around him and let him in, she could very easily grow to love the older Salvatore.

Taking a deep breath, Elena changed into her pajamas and pulled back the covers. Snuggling comfortably under the warm blankets, she tried to calm her mind down enough for some sleep. And after hours and hours of tossing and turning, it finally came.

That night she dreamed about a tall, dark, and handsome man kissing her over and over. He told her he loved her.

She woke up with a smile on her face.


End file.
